{This is a repost from my blog archives. I wrote this in 2016 – most all of the tips here are consistent with how we plan trips today, even though our life is very different.}
Welcome to the first part of my Travel Prep Series! I post plenty about the trips we take on this blog but not a whole lot about the “how-to’s” and process behind the travel that we do. We have traveled frequently throughout our five years of marriage, taking a couple of big vacations annually and several weekend trips throughout the year. Earlier this year (2016), we spent three months traveling around Europe. At this point, I feel like I have a solid strategy in place for planning a trip, and I’m excited to share that with you! None of these tips are life-changing or unknown. They are just the simple steps I take to prepare for a trip before our departure date. So far, using these steps, we have managed to see many parts of the world on the many (mostly) seamless trips we have taken over the past five years.
As a disclaimer, I am not covering budgeting for a trip or saving up points and miles for a trip in this series. I plan to get to that in a later series, but this Travel Prep Series assumes you already have all of your resources lined up and are ready to begin the process of making your trip a reality.
1. Select your trip style.
What type of trip are you looking for? A vacation should be whatever you want it to be. Are you looking to relax on a beach after a busy time at work? Are you looking for amazing local food different from what you can get at home? Do you want adventure or shopping? Culture or the spa? Luxury or budget? You can pick any combination of these. Knowing your trip style will help you narrow down your destination of choice throughout the following steps.
Typically, Daniel and I center our trips around adventure, food, and culture, but occasionally we need a trip built simply around relaxation (and we always care about food, of course!). If you’d like some trip ideas, check out our trips to Peru, Galway, London, and Chicago.
2. Look at your budget.
You may or may not have a travel savings account. If you do, look at the amount you have saved and decide what percentage you want to use from it for this particular trip. If you don’t have a travel savings account, think about how much spending money you have to spare for travel. You should also check your points and miles inventory as these can significantly reduce your trip cost total. You probably know to budget for the basics (airfare, meals, lodging, etc), but it’s easy to forget some other costs involved in travel:
- Transportation while at your destination (trains, buses, rental car, etc)
- Snacks and coffee breaks
- Activities (they add up fast and are often more expensive than you’d think!)
- Tips
Always be sure to add some margin for miscellaneous things you won’t think of before leaving. Also take into account any clothing, equipment, or packing accessories you might need to purchase before traveling.
3. Reference your calendar.
Open up your calendar to pick the specific days or weeks for your trip. I love opening up my monthly calendar and seeing open weekends and weeks ready to be filled in!
How long do you want to be on your trip? This is the time to look at how many vacation days you have left for the year and compare to how many days off you need for the rest of the year. Your schedule may be tied down to your child’s summer break, or you may be very limited with what time of year you can take vacation at work. Is this a weekend getaway? Is it a big international adventure? It probably makes more sense to travel domestically when you just have a weekend to spare and to save the international trip for when you have more time to be away. Many people forget that international trips will (usually) require a full day or more to travel to your destination and back (plus it takes a day for jet lag recovery!).
4. Consult your travel bucket list.
If you are like me, at the beginning of each year, you have an idea of the places you’d like to go throughout the year. Whether you are referencing a written list, your “Dream Vacation” Pinterest board (here’s a link to one of mine), or a running list in your head, this is the time to select which of those destinations you’d like to go to. Which of them align with the trip style you are looking for and fit with your current budget? I usually select two or three from my list before moving on to the next step.
5. Reference your top destinations’ calendars.
An important thing to think about is the season or time of year you will be traveling and the events going on during those times. Many people select trips based on events or the seasons. For example, many people want to visit New York City during Christmastime, Washington DC in the spring for the Cherry Blossom Festival, or Munich during Oktoberfest. Others may choose to stay away from places when big events are being held. Regardless of your preference, learning about your destinations’ calendars will help you narrow down your options.
One easy way to do this is to search “X City in X Month” (like “Paris in April”) on Google. This will allow you to see if there are any major events or things to consider in the city you’re considering traveling to during the time of year you’d like to go.
6. Search for travel guides and resources.
Now that you have narrowed it down to your top two or three destinations, it’s time to do some research to make sure you choose the best place for your desired travel style, budget, time of year, and schedule. Pinterest is my absolute favorite resource for this. Just search “______ Travel Guide”, and a wide variety of great resources will pop up, many by travel bloggers. Click through to a few of the sites and read about what other people have done while in your selected destination(s).
TripAdvisor also has some really great Travel Guides prepared by locals and frequent travelers for the more popular destinations. It can also be fun to go to a bookstore and flip through travel books while sipping on coffee. At this point, you really can’t go wrong, so select a destination that makes sense for you!
Once you’ve chosen your destination, it’s time to start planning all of the logistics! In my next post, I’ll share my process for booking flights.
That’s my six-step process for choosing a trip destination. This is always my first set of steps leading up to travel, and it’s one of my favorite parts. The possibilities are endless! How do you decide on travel destinations?
{Thanks for reading! Want to know a little more about me? I’m a CPA learning how to balance a career with motherhood and regular travel while planting roots at home in the Austin, TX area. When I’m not exploring my home city with my husband Daniel and baby boy Carson or cuddling with my chubby orange cat Banana, I’m probably either out on a playdate with my son or planning, packing for, traveling to, or daydreaming about our next adventure. After all, my travel mug collection is never complete. If you have wanderlust too, be sure to follow me on Instagram (and InstaStories!), Pinterest, and Facebook, or subscribe to my blog!}
Like it? Pin it!
